Hi annhig and great to read you report so glad you have enjoyed the trip albeit some interesting interludes too, will await to see more... (I am currently in London here to drop my daughter off at University)

Hi annhig -- visiting from "Europe" and now along for the ride

I think I did a current events project on Sri Lanka in the 80's in high school. That, and this report, may be as close as I get.

Hi Mohammed,

thanks for "dropping in" [almost literally].

hope that your daughter gets settled in ok.

what is travel without its "interesting interludes"?

we need both the warp and the weft, IMO.

hi indy-dad, welcome.

shame if you don't ever get there - as you can see it took us 25 years or so, but it was worth the wait.

Great post, Ann. Sounds like you had all you could handle on your first day of sightseeing, which isn't quite bad given that you came off your intercontinental flight and 5-hour drive the day before. Is there no shelter at all from the heat at Polunawara? How were the crowds the day you were there?

hi tp,

yes we were very surprised at how perky we felt the first day, which was probably just as well. Being driven is of course nowhere near as tiring as doing the driving oneself [which in Sri Lanka would be inclined to induce a nervous breakdown in short order] and there were certainly no crowds at Polunawara the day we were there, in fact we didn't encounter what i would call a crowd at any of the "sites" though the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy got closest to it.

as for shelter from the heat - only what one brings oneself. A hat &/or an umbrella [very popular with the locals for whom they double as parasols] would be good ideas.

Thanks Ann. Appreciate it.

sorry about the delay folks, but here's the next installment:


Day 3 - Ordeal by elephant.

Sigiriya being relatively close to Dambulla, we didn’t need such an early start as yesterday, but by 8.30 we were on the way and by 9.15am we were arriving at the site, with Ajith advising us that we really did need a guide here, AND that the guide should cost 1000 rupees. [NB - don’t make the mistake that we did and assume that the guides acknowledge this going rate - not fixing the cost with the guide at the beginning led us into untold difficulties later, as, dear reader, you will discover if you read on].

Anyway, introduced to our guide, we were taken to buy our tickets [a whopping U$ 30, or approx £20 each] and then across the road to the site itself. The tour started with an introduction to the history of the palaces and how this 5th century king had supplanted his half-brother, and built the palace with its water gardens around the rock for the dry season and the rainy season palace complete with swimming pools on top of it, both as a retreat and a fortress. His kingdom, we learnt, lasted for 18 years until his brother invaded with an army of elephants and realising he was defeated, he committed suicide. The guide, whose father he said was a guide from the time that the site had been rediscovered by the british in the mid 20th century, certainly knew his stuff and greatly enlivened the tour.

By now we had reached the massive rock that rears up from the floor of the valley, and in 30C heat we started to climb the 1000+ steps that lead to the top. From the bottom these steps seem to go on forever, and they were certainly hard work, but blessed relief was afforded half-way by the terrace where we were able to inspect the miraculously preserved 5th century paintings of some extremely pretty girls [whether of daughters of the king or his courtesans or both seems unclear] and the mirror wall where the ancient graffiti has enabled scholars to unpick the mysteries of the ancient singhalese language. Shortly afterwards we reached the terrace where it is said there used to be a huge statue of a lion - sadly only the paws remain - and after that it was a relatively easy climb to the top, and to fantastic views over the surrounding countryside, as well as the chance to inspect the remains of the ancient palace and swimming pools.

The top of the rock is surprisingly large, and undulating, and we spent 30 mins or so exploring the ruins and trying to visualise how it might have looked 15 centuries ago, but there was no shade at all, and the sun was unrelenting, so we decided that it was time to descend, which of course was a lot easier than going up. It was interesting to see on the way down that excavation and renovation works are still going on and to observe an age-old building-method in action - a human chain of about 50 men literally throwing bricks up the hillside to where they were needed. But we were soon at the bottom, and duly proffered our guide his 1000 rupees as advised by Ajith, only to be met [you’d guessed this was coming, hadn’t you?] by outrage that we were offering him so little - he was “expecting 2000 Rs. Not only that, but the 200 rupees that we offered to each of his “helpers” [local lads who had given us the odd helping hand on the way up, clearly in the hope of a tip] were rejected with scorn, each of them demanding 1000 Rs each! After a good deal of argy-bargy we more or less threw 3000 Rs at them to argue about amongst themselves, and in a somewhat soured mood [mainly at ourselves for being had] we got back into the van, and sped back to the hotel for a restorative beer and swim.

Sanity restored, we determined not to allow these unseemly wranglings to spoil the memory of what had otherwise been a fantastic excursion - probably the best we had to any of the monuments in Sri Lanka, and in any event, we had barely any time before we were due to set off on our elephant safari!

I had read before we left of the “gathering” at the Minnierya national park, when several hundred elephants make for the watering holes there at the end of the dry season, and we were keen to fit it into our itinerary. The guide also suggested that we might see many bird species and a few other mammals too, so it was not to be missed, we thought, though the cost seemed again pretty high - U$ 50 each, [including entrance to the park] or 13000 Rs. [our cash was diminishing fast, though thankfully, as I told DH, this was the last of our big expenses for several days, until we got to Yala]. Safaris take place either in the early morning or afternoon/evening, and as our mornings had been taken up with monuments, the afternoon it had to be. The disadvantage of this time of day was brought home to us as soon we we boarded our jeep along with a somewhat taciturn guide, and were racketing down the dusty road in the full heat of the day with no roof cover. Still, this mode of transport provided an unparalleled view of Sri Lankan life, for example the chap keeping “look out” for the petrol tanker driver by traveling on top of the tanker, the 4-5 people riding on a moped, [look, the baby’s wearing a hat!] the cow and her calf wandering aimlessly into the traffic. [that’s not unknown at home, actually]

Once at the park [about a 30 minute drive] while the driver bought our passes I took the opportunity to use the toilets [pretty ok, surprisingly] and the realisation dawned upon me as he gave me direction to the ladies that our guide wasn’t just the strong silent type, he was mute! [whether deaf as well we weren’t quite sure, but I think not]. It soon became evident that our guide had developed strategies to overcome, at least partially, his difficulties in his chosen profession. For example, he banged with a ring on the frame of the jeep to get the driver to stop, go forward or back, [in fact they all did this] and had a collection of kissing a whistling noises which he combined with gestures to indicate what he wanted us to look at. Fortunately due to Ajith’s instruction we already had an idea of many of the birds and other wildlife that we were likely to see, and years of playing guessing games with our kids stood us in good stead, but still, at times the trip resembled nothing so much as a cross between Twenty Questions and Give us a clue!

We managed to spot a number of bird species that were new to us but after an hour or so, we had reached the lake area where it was obviously hoped that we would be able to see the highest concentration of elephants. Indeed we did see 50 or more in several family groups, but there were numerous other jeeps there too, all jockeying for the best position, and clearly putting the elephants under stress. OK, we all got terrific photos of them, including some very “cute” babies, but several of the elephants made mock charges at the vehicles, and they were obviously and understandably cross at our behaviour, so we asked [via our driver who was with the driver inside the jeep as we couldn’t get our guide to understand] if we could drive off to another area and look at some birds or other wildlife, which caused a degree of consternation - didn’t we want to see the elephants? We tried to explain what was worrying us, but to little effect as we then spent the next hour or so stalking a couple of tuskers [young males] and nothing we said or did could divert our driver and guide from this course, so we more or less gave up.

Eventually the sun started to set and a positive caravan of jeeps made its way out of the park, and we were taken back to our van and then, not particularly happily, back to our hotel. I think that Ajith realised that we were not happy bunnies when we refused to tip the driver and guide - not only had they not done what we wanted, but we felt, had already been quite well for not doing it. Should we have tipped them? After all the driver and guide probably don’t see much of the money we paid, and the guide had certainly overcome what must have been quite substantial odds to get a job doing something he clearly loved doing - there was no doubt that he loved those elephants.

Back in the peace and quiet of our hotel room, over a nice cup of tea [well we are british] we tried to bring some perspective to the day and enjoy our last evening, whilst we watched the sun set over the lake. We agreed that we needed to talk to Ajith to ensure that we got more say in what we were doing [dear reader, you can judge for yourselves whether we were successful in this if you keep reading!] and that there was no point in crying over spilt milk - we had the rest of the holiday to enjoy, and come what may, we were going to enjoy it!

Our last evening meal at Dambulla was as ever very good, though if we had stayed longer, we might have explored the other dining options as the buffet though very well cooked, was becoming a little predictable. Then we had a nice drink in the lounge listening to some local musicians, who were certainly enthusiastic, and finally took our last evening walk to our room accompanied by myriad bats, lizards, and a few things I’d prefer not to think about.

Tomorrow - why didn’t we bring any ear-plugs?

We also had the mute game-spotter. We thought he was quite good. He used a book to point out specific species of birds.

We also didn't like the jeeps harassing the elphants to get them to trumpet and charge. Fortunately, our driver came on the truck with us, so I was able to tell him what we wanted and he told the driver. They all seemed a bit mistified as to why we didn't want to see the elephants trumpet and charge, but complied with our request.

Also, our driver was persent when we paid guides, so we had no difficulty with the sort of thing you experienced. It reminds me how much a good driver can mitigate the common problem of the increasing price.

I'm enjoying your report!

Thanks Ann. Another great installment! I too would not feel comfortable about how the elephants are being treated.

Still reading ann, although am traveling now. I didn't have a guide for Sigiriya and didn't think I needed one - I had read up on the site. I intentionally skipped any and all elephant offerings. Had ridden one in Thailand and been unhappy with the way they were treated. Did see a couple by the side of the road in SL, though.

Kathie - we found out later that they all use the same book to point out bird species, but the mute guide had far more problems when he was trying to tell us other things, like animal species and how old the baby elephants were. Also, when we had 2 different guides at Yala, one for a bird walk and the for a "safari" in the national park, both of whom could speak, it brought it home to us how inadequate the mute guide had been. and of course we couldn't ask him questions very readily or have any sort of conversation with him.

our driver, who in other ways was very good, seemed a bit ambivalent about tipping - whenever we asked him how much was appropriate, he would say that it was not acceptable for the recipient to ask for anything and that it was entirely up to us - which wasn't particularly helpful. but he was clear about prices, which helped. we just should have listened to him!

tripplanner, thursdays - we should have predicted what was going to happen at Minniyera, as really the elephants are the only things to see there and it was peak season for the "gathering", so it was entirely our fault that we fell into doing it. We'd have been much better off going to see the Dambulla caves, to be honest. in our defence I think that there is always a steep learning curve at the beginning of every trip, which was exacerbated by the fact we hadn't been to Asia before. I'd like to think that had we done the trip the other way round, by the time we got to Dambulla we'd have been a bit more assertive and "street-wise", but you never know.

Ann, you're right that "you never know" and sometimes not knowing is part of the experience. IMO, if overall, you had a good experience and came away with some nice memories or perhaps insight into the culture, etc., then to me, you've done pretty well.

IMO, if overall, you had a good experience and came away with some nice memories or perhaps insight into the culture, etc., then to me, you've done pretty well.>>

all of that and more, tripplanner. We came away wondering if we had ever had such a good holiday in all our years together, and talking about going back. so you will understand I hope that I am not complaining, but trying to portray a balanced picture of our trip, not a "it was all wonderful" TR, which would be neither true nor interesting.

Funny that you had the same guide! Or maybe they're all "mute" - a lot easier to not speak at all than to learn English. The ele situation is sad and nails the complications of cultural differences.

crosscheck - yes, it is quite a co-incidence.

I don't think that they are all mute [I'm not sure I've ever met a mute person before to be honest] as i could see other guides talking to their clients. and this chap was clearly genuinely mute - i noticed he was communicating with other guides by gestures and various noises, so that would have been taking pretence too far!

No, Ann, you're not complaining. I enjoy the balanced approach, as that is more interesting and most helpful to other travellers like me.

Day 4 - Ordeal by cricket match

Dawn on our last morning at Kandala brought the usual bright and sunny weather [the job of being a weather forecaster in Sri Lanka must be an easy one] and we had a last cup of tea on the balcony before packing up and going down to breakfast. The plan today was to make for Kandy, check into our hotel, and then head down to the T20 match at the Pallekele stadium about 15 kms outside the city. We got our tickets via the internet for the grand total of U$10 - U$1 for the tickets and U$9 for the postage. We weren’t expecting much - just a patch of grass to sit on, and a view of the match or rather 2 matches as the ticket covered both of the matches taking place at the ground that day - not bad for 50c pp.

Had we really thought about it [or known more] we might have fitted in an early morning trip to the Dambulla Caves [which are on our list for our next visit] but we weren’t in a mood to rush, and by the time we’d packed, breakfasted and paid, it was about 9.00. Ajith had said that the journey to Kandy should take 2 1/2 hours, plus the obligatory stop at a spice garden so our ETA at our hotel, the Theva Residence, was about 1pm. The beginning of the journey was pretty standard - the usual chaos with Ajith doing an excellent job of avoiding collision with all the other road users. Then the traffic eased off and we started to climb into the hills along some rather better roads. After 90 minutes or so, in the middle of a little town Ajith suddenly pulled into a yard, and there in front of us, was possibly the most ornate temple I have ever seen. [OK, I haven’t seen that many but not one single inch of its surface could be seen!] It was completely covered in hindu images and was clearly a well-known land-mark as several other vehicles pulled up while we were there. Photo-op over, we got back in the van, and carried on ever upwards towards Kandy.

Next stop was a spice garden - we’d thought about whether or not we really wanted to do this, but actually we were quite interested as we grow a lot of herbs at home and whilst by no means having alternative beliefs, we like to see ourselves as being open to new ideas. [by which you will realise that we are actually fuddy-duddy conventionalists!] Of course, many of the spices are familiar to anyone who does any cooking, even the “good plain” cookery beloved of the british of yesteryear [and not a few cornish people as well]. Nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, allspice - all are thoroughly familiar to anyone who’s ever made a fruit cake, though our guide seemed to have difficulty believing this. [this was not a unique reaction to our saying that we had .......at home - in general Sri Lankans seemed to have some pretty strange ideas about Britain - or as they described it - England]. Most interesting was the information about the medicinal spices and herbs - I suspect that we in the west lose a lot by ignoring this resource. Of course the visit concluded with the opportunity to avail ourselves of the obligatory gift shop and we bought a few presents - a hair preparation for our daughter, spices for cooking, some cocoa for our son.

The rest of the trip up to Kandy was marked by a distinct increase in the traffic and Ajith explained that the main rush hour in Sri Lanka is around 1-2pm when the children all come out of school. This was obvious from the number of school buses, the children in their very smart uniforms spilling out of their schools, and the tuk-tuks racing away with their charges. So by the time we arrived in Kandy the roads were clogged and progress was very slow, which gave us plenty of time to admire the sights - the lake, the temple of the tooth, the market, the prison [the prison? - yes - built by the British and not renovated since by the look of it], the hospital - we saw them all.

When we booked it, i suppose that we realised that our hotel, the Theva Residence, http://theva.lk/theva.html - wasn’t exactly in the centre of Kandy, but i don’t think that we had appreciated how far up above the city it was - it seemed to take ages for us to wind our way up the hillside, until finally we arrived, with our van making a sharp right-hand turn into the drive which was so well hidden we hadn’t even seen it.

Once the arrival formalities were over - [a contract to sign arrived with every welcome drink we had during our trip! ] we were shown to our room which was just off the drive but still very quiet, dumped our bags, and made immediately for the reception/dining area where lunch was being served. And what a lunch! I opted for some fish I’d never heard of wrapped in banana leaves with a risotto and DH had a biryani with some other accompaniments both washed down with local beer. I honestly don’t know which was the most delicious.

We’d already decided that we weren’t too fussed if we didn’t see the whole of the first match which was due to be Sri Lanka v New Zealand, but even so we were getting a bit impatient to get there as we struggled through the traffic again along the road to the cricket ground. Finally we got to the ground and located the correct entrance, only to be confronted with long queues to get in, even though the match had started some time previously. Actually to be strictly accurate, the queue for the men was long, the queue for the women was non-existent. Why separate queues? Because everyone was having a VERY vigorous body-search, and I mean vigorous. Barely any orifice remained unprobed. That meant that I had to wait for DH for some considerable time while he waited for his turn. Still his fellow queuees were very friendly and cheerful, especially when he said he was supporting Sri Lanka.

When we got into the ground, it was surprisingly easy to find our “seating” area, which as we’d suspected, turned out to be a patch of grass under the score-board. In theory we could have sat down, but as all the enthusiastic Sri Lankan supporters around us were standing up, we had to stand too. This match turned out to be a corker, with the teams tied at the end which meant that they had to have a “golden” over to finish the match - cricket doesn’t get any more thrilling than that. [apologies to Masterchef!] By this stage the noise was almost overwhelming - whistling, shouting, two bands, a trumpeter, and pop music blaring out of some nearby speakers, all at the same time.

The England v WI match was a bit of an anti-climax, [the WI won easily after Chris Gayle set about the english bowling with a passion] but luckily many of the locals went home after that so we had room to sit down on the grass, and move around. We’d been quite curious about the food and drink that might be on offer, but we need have had no fears about it - there was plenty of beer available plus freshly cooked noodles, crisps, and hot dogs [to which we gave a wide berth]. The loos started off ok, but deteriorated somewhat; it must be said that they were no worse than many I’ve come across at sporting events in the UK, though a torch would have been useful later on.

We’d been worried about how we were going to find Ajith and the van at the end of the match but we needn’t have - i just sent him a brief text to tell him where we were going to exit the ground, and he met us and led us straight back to where he’d parked. The journey back to Kandy was interesting - we overtook carts crammed with people, over-loaded mopeds, and buses with positively overflowing with passengers, and finally we fell into bed at about midnight.

I think the "best" places to stay in Kandy are all quite some distance from the city - out in the lovely hills. The place we stayed was like that, and it took half an hour each way whenever we went into town.

Looking forward to more...

Sounds like a great travel day!